William chaeles macdonald



UNITED STATES ATENT Fries.

1 WILLIAM CHARLES MACDONALD, OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BYMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO HIMSELF AND AUGUSTUS FREDERIG PEIRCE,

' OF SAME PLACE.

LlFE-PRESERVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 335,599. dated February9. 1886.

Application filed October 14,1885. Serial No. 179,839. (No model.)

1T0 all whom it may concern:

, chusetts, have invented a new. and useful Improvement inLife-Preservers or Devices for Keeping a Person Afloat in Water; and. Ido hereby declare the same to be described in the followingspecificationand represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1. isatop view, Fig. 2 a transverse l section, and Fig. 3 a longitudinalsection, of a 'life-preserver of my improved kind.

. It consists of a long water-proof flexile bag, A, rectangular inshape,closed at its edges entirely around it, and having through it at itsmiddle a circular or other proper shaped opening, B, the sides of thebag directly about the opening being cemented together or con- .nectedwith a water-proof joining. The bag so made is to be supposed to becomposed of two rectangular sheets, a and b, of water-proof cloth, oflike size, laid flatwise one upon the other, and joined at their edgesby a waterproof connection, each sheet having through it at its middle ahole, and such holes being alike in size, and having the two sheetsunited by awater-proof connection or joint at and around the peripheriesof such holes.

, Between-the two sheets a and b at their middles, and fixed to them,are two fiexile pipes, c c, which, on the head of a person having beeninserted through the opening B, so as to cause the bag at its middle torest on the shoulders of such person, are to extend unless theshoulders, in order to insure a free communication ".between the part ofthe bag that may hang down in front of the person with the partin rearof him.

flFor inflating the bag with air, aflexile pipe, 0, opens out of it ator near theopenj ingB, and terminates with a nozzle, D, to be 1 placedin the mouth of the person. This pipe is pro,vidcd with a clasp, E, forcontracting it WldiihWilSB SO as to prevent air from escaping throughit,such clamp consisting of a slide,

d, and a bent lever, e, fulcrumed to the slide, all being asrepresented. At one end of the bag is a strap, F, thatprojects from itat its middle, there being at the other end of the bag a button orbuttons, f, to engage with such strap. Besides such button or buttons,there are to the bag at suchend two straps, G and H, that extend from itin opposite directions transversely of it, each near its outer end beingprovided with one or more button-holes.

When the life-preserver is on the body of a person, the straps G and Hare to go about it and button upon buttons ii at the opposite end of thebag, the strap F being brought between the legs of the person andbuttoned upon the button or buttonsf.

From the above it will be seen that when the life-preserver is fixedupon the body of a person he can inflate it by applying his mouth to thenozzle of the tube 0, the clasp being first lowered upon the tube.Having inflated the bag sufficiently he is to set the clasp firmly onthe tube, so as to prevent the escape of air from the bag.

The article thus constructed will not only be found to be an excellentlife-preserver in case of shipwreck or a person being in the water, butwill answer to keep a person afloat when he may be learning to swim ormay be bathing.

I claim- The combination, with the life preserver consisting of thewater-proof bag open through its middle, and of the straps and buttons,inflation-tube, and its clamp, arranged as set forth, of the flexiletubes placed within the bag at the middle of it and arranged with itsneck opening, so as when the life-preserver in use to extend across theshoulders of the wearer, all being substantially as and for the purposespecified.

WILLIAM CHARLES MACDONALD.

